Infrastructure plays an important role in the economic development of Viet Nam and Economic zones. Since Van Don Economic Zone will focus on maritime tourism, financial and trading services unlike most of the Economic Zones which focus on industrial development, a wide range of economic activities are permitted in the VDEZ.
The development of utilities infrastructure is a principal prerequisite for the successful implementation of the Van Don EZ. Mr. Pham Van Thanh made a case study which objectives were to: (1) investigate and identify key infrastructure for developing Van Don economic zone; (2) determine the overall progress of the program and analyzing the feasibility of the program and the critical difficulties in capital investment; and (3) propose solutions and recommendations from the state authority’s point of view for developing infrastructure system.
Conclusion
The case study had analyzed the development of infrastructure at the Van Don economic zone, which is defined as dynamic economic development and regional areas. The analyses revealed that:
• Infrastructure development plays a decisive role in the development of economic zones in particular and economic sector in general.
• The investment in infrastructure construction needs a large and sustained fund, while the project has long life cycle, many risks, capital recovery is slow, and less attractive to investors.
• At the macro level, Government will play a major role in investment and development of public infrastructure, because the investment in infrastructure development is low financial benefit but high in Socio-economic benefits and security social welfare.
• State funding is not enough, thereby diversifying investments fund is necessary solutions for allocation of the risk of capital scarcity in the future.
Besides making uniformity of implementation planning, analysis to develop sustainable financial resources for infrastructure development is a critical condition. Diversify forms of capital to increase capacity to mobilize capital in the application of financial modeling is essential. Special issue of privatization, project finance, public private partnership should be carefully considered depending on the maturity level of the economy as well as the sustained commitment of the government through the mechanism management.
Advanced methods can be successfully applied in developed countries but by no means will succeed when brought into Vietnam without appropriate adjustments, there are reasons for differences in the provisions of policies and economic conditions - social, especially when developed countries already have experience and maturity level of the market economy.
The adoption and implementation of the program should have a general policy relating to all political system in which government plays a key role in forming the mechanism.
Recommendation for Improving Developing Infrastructure Program
Within the scope of research at the Van Don economic zone, the author proposes three other group solutions in policy mechanisms to ensure the viability of the programs such as:
1. Source of State Capital Financial Risk
• Government needs to approve the plan capital allocated for investment in infrastructure of Van Don economic zone in a 5-year cycle. This program needs to be passed by National Assembly.
• Government should allow Quang Ninh province actively planning and using land fund along the highway to create capital from land use fees for development infrastructure.
• Allows the Quang Ninh province to keep and use tax revenues in Van Don EZ to invest in infrastructure construction.
This policy will ensure the resources of the state capital and overcome the risks of capital investment.
2. Government Support Public Infrastructure investors
• Complete planning and publicizing a list of infrastructure projects, which required investment.
• Government should issue legal and Regulatory Framework of PPP, PF, Concession model, to ensure the objectives of attracting private sector capital in the country and foreign investment in developing infrastructure to provide public services.
• Governments should publicize the commitment when establishing forms of cooperation in Public-Private Partnership or Private public infrastructure project.
• Create all favorable conditions and methods to ensure the recoverability capital and interest of enterprise or SPV company.
3. Government Support Business investors
Development of infrastructure for economic and social development. Economic and social development, and business development are the keys to making business in public infrastructure a success. Thus, promoting business investment has an important role but might also the cause of infrastructure investment.
• Special tax incentives for investment projects in the VDEZ, profit repatriation and reinvestment incentives.
• Special land tax and leasing rates.
• Simplified and fast approval process for key development initiatives.
• Special incentives and simplified approval process for foreign skilled workers.
• Land allocation complete with infrastructural facilities provided to expedite development.
• A more liberal policy on housing ownership and lease arrangements for Vietnamese, Overseas Vietnamese residents, Permanent Residents and Foreign Investors.
• A preferential policy to regulate sources of revenue and increase reinvestment capital.
• To establish special development funds to promote development initiatives in Van Don.
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
Vietnam is developing country having population of about 90 millions. From 90s year of 20th century, After 20 years of renovation, Vietnam has achieved important milestone in economic development, politics, society as well as foreign affairs such as remaining sustainable and high development rate (average 10% per year), stable politics, attractive and potential market to foreign investors. Nowadays, Vietnam has become member of UN, WTO and many international organizations and forums, especially playing important role in ASEAN. Vietnam has never have great opportunities and challenges to develop country like now.
Vietnam also located in trading hub area and economical corridors of region. In order to utilize such advantages with consideration to importance of economical integration to provide equal development in country wide, Vietnam has established 15 costal economical zones in decision 1353/QD-TTg dated 23 September 2008. It will be cores and driving forces for economic development of Vietnam.
However, one of basic and key matter obstructing the development of Vietnam like other economies also, is the lack of financial capital to improve the shorted infrastructures Providing proper policies and directions to mobilize capital sources investing in infrastructure development in economic zones is the key of Vietnamese economic development policy to promote the effects of such economic zones.
This research focus study on Van Don economic zone of Quang Ninh province, which is one of costal economic zone established in year 2007 according to decision 120/QD-TTg dated 26 July 2007, and having administrative and natural area of 2171km2 and 553km2 respectively. It is northern costal economic zone having many potentials regarding to tourist, luxury recreational, industry and high-tech industry, and free trade. Study of mechanism, funding program of infrastructure development support for this economic zone is the objective of this research.
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Monday, 21 March 2011
Schedule Planning and Control in Engineering, Procurement and Construction Project
In Vietnam, many building projects funded by government experienced budget overrun and schedule delay. The main reason is lack of knowledge in applying project planning and control, and also how to use the proven principles and methodologies of modern project management techniques to improve the projects performance. In order to understand the impact of project planning and control in project implementation, a case study was explored, and its results show the strengths, weakness, and consequences. However, there are also some problems that can occur when applying project planning and control such as cultural thought, political and social systems, lack of knowledge and inexperienced consultants. As a result, the negative effectiveness of unsuccessful practice of EPC project schedule planning and control can lead to more budget overruns and schedule delays.
Applying modern project management techniques in schedule planning and control for EPC project which funded by government is very difficult. It is important to explore the practice of EPC project schedule planning and control. Therefore, Mr. Vo Si Hoai made a case study on city hall project to increase a better understanding on schedule planning and control systems, and how it can be applied effectively in construction projects.
The objectives of his study were to: (1) identify schedule planning process in EPC project; (2) study and develop the schedule of each stage in EPC project; (3) develop schedule planning and control in EPC project; and (4) identify the potential problem, consequence and solution in EPC contract, also identify the advantage and advantage as suggestion should apply the EPC contract for which of project well as.
Conclusion
The case study found out that there is similar EPC project planning strategy from local EPCC. It can be concluded that EPC project planning strategy in terms of design, procurement and construction from EPCC has been aligned and organized, but, in terms of schedule aspects, it has been yet organized. Major improvements are needed for the EPC project planning strategy in EPCC in order to improve the management performance. In contrast, it can be concluded that the EPCC planning strategy has been aligned and organized in all aspects. However, there are some major points, which need to be improved in order to strengthen and continually improve the strategy performance. This study found out the good points and the “not” good point yet of schedule planning and control as shown in the table below.
Recommendations
Re-evaluate current project planning e.g. schedule planning and control in project implementation, and explore the possibility of training for weak areas. Encourage an expert in project management to explore ways to fund and put in place a specialized body of knowledge, potential certification program and cooperate with world’s project management community for the advancement of professional and its disciplines.
The recommendations to improve the schedule planning and control are shown in the table below.
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
Nowadays, construction market is growing rapidly in Vietnam so that the needs of knowledge of professional project management are very necessary. Many high-rise building construction projects funded by government are implemented using traditional method for project management. Lacking of knowledge of applying the proven principles and methodologies of modern EPC project management techniques is one of the reasons that cause project delay and cost overrun. Schedule planning and control is one of the factors that project managers have a lot of interest. By investigating and analyzing the weakness, and consequence for EPC project schedule planning and control in public building project funded by government, the result show the reasons cause schedule delay and cost overrun are the method delivery, using professional project management software, and lack of modern EPC project management knowledge of Vietnamese project manager. Therefore, the government should encourage professional with experience in project management to explore ways to fund and put in place a specialized body of knowledge, potential certification program and cooperate with world’s project management community for the advancement of professional and its disciplines.
Applying modern project management techniques in schedule planning and control for EPC project which funded by government is very difficult. It is important to explore the practice of EPC project schedule planning and control. Therefore, Mr. Vo Si Hoai made a case study on city hall project to increase a better understanding on schedule planning and control systems, and how it can be applied effectively in construction projects.
The objectives of his study were to: (1) identify schedule planning process in EPC project; (2) study and develop the schedule of each stage in EPC project; (3) develop schedule planning and control in EPC project; and (4) identify the potential problem, consequence and solution in EPC contract, also identify the advantage and advantage as suggestion should apply the EPC contract for which of project well as.
Conclusion
The case study found out that there is similar EPC project planning strategy from local EPCC. It can be concluded that EPC project planning strategy in terms of design, procurement and construction from EPCC has been aligned and organized, but, in terms of schedule aspects, it has been yet organized. Major improvements are needed for the EPC project planning strategy in EPCC in order to improve the management performance. In contrast, it can be concluded that the EPCC planning strategy has been aligned and organized in all aspects. However, there are some major points, which need to be improved in order to strengthen and continually improve the strategy performance. This study found out the good points and the “not” good point yet of schedule planning and control as shown in the table below.
RecommendationsRe-evaluate current project planning e.g. schedule planning and control in project implementation, and explore the possibility of training for weak areas. Encourage an expert in project management to explore ways to fund and put in place a specialized body of knowledge, potential certification program and cooperate with world’s project management community for the advancement of professional and its disciplines.
The recommendations to improve the schedule planning and control are shown in the table below.
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
Nowadays, construction market is growing rapidly in Vietnam so that the needs of knowledge of professional project management are very necessary. Many high-rise building construction projects funded by government are implemented using traditional method for project management. Lacking of knowledge of applying the proven principles and methodologies of modern EPC project management techniques is one of the reasons that cause project delay and cost overrun. Schedule planning and control is one of the factors that project managers have a lot of interest. By investigating and analyzing the weakness, and consequence for EPC project schedule planning and control in public building project funded by government, the result show the reasons cause schedule delay and cost overrun are the method delivery, using professional project management software, and lack of modern EPC project management knowledge of Vietnamese project manager. Therefore, the government should encourage professional with experience in project management to explore ways to fund and put in place a specialized body of knowledge, potential certification program and cooperate with world’s project management community for the advancement of professional and its disciplines.
Friday, 18 March 2011
A Study on Risk of Delay in Power Plant Projects
During 35 years of recovery and development, Vietnam economy has become stable and strongly developed. Many factories have been opened and producing a large quantity of goods for domestic and international market. Therefore, the demands of electric power become essential. Understanding this huge demand, Vietnam has focused on developing the domestic power production.
Looking at the picture of Power development in Vietnam, and with the characteristics, complexity and high rate of construction and installation, all of the Power project must be done under EPC Contract. EPC contract is the best solution that has been selected for such project in Vietnam. Like any other types of Contract, risk of delay also occurs in EPC contract under different stage such as:
- Engineering: Delay caused by change in design, lack of input data, and mistake in design
- Procurement: Risk of transportation, shortage of material, and cost fluctuation
- Construction: execution capability, inappropriate construction management, and bad coordination
There are a lot of participants who take part in Power Plant Project, and each of party plays a different role and therefore carries a different potential risk of delay. When delay occurs, it will not only affect the time schedule, but also the cost, and quality of project. Understanding delay factors and root causation is a foundation to help Vietnamese companies to develop their project management system, thus to avoid risk of delays in future projects.
Mr. Nguyen Le Minh made a case study on Nhon Trach 1 combined cycle power plant project in Dong Nai, Vietnam. The purpose of his study were to: (1) identify & classify delay events in Thermal Power Plant Project; (2) investigate major delay events, detail analysis to find out delay behaviors and main causations; and (3) propose recommendation for improving so that such delays and causation factors can be prevented for future projects.
Conclusion
From the case study of Nhon Trach 1 Power Plant, out of 10 major delays that have been found out, there are 5 delays which are critical to the whole projects. These factors are events in engineering stage, procurement stage, and construction phase. In these 10 delays, 4 factors are caused by owner, 1 factor by consultant, 3 factors by unforeseen condition and 4 factors by contractor.
By analyzing situations and key factors, it was discovered that the major delay behaviors includes:
i) Owner’s failure in making timely decision
ii) Owner’s failure in following up contract commitment
iii) Consultant’s mistakes in design/specification
iv) Contractor’s mistakes in project scheduling, planning
v) Contractor make fault in project management
vi) Lack of cooperation among Parties
vii) Unforeseen/unpredictable situations causing delay
These factors are also classified into:
i) Technical factors: 5 events
ii) Managerial factors: 4 events
iii) External factors: 3 events
We can see that the causations come from not only Contractor but also Owner and Consultant, which postulates a gap in large scale project management of Vietnamese companies (in the role of either Owner, Consultant or Constructor) when being compared with international level.
Although the study may not present typical situations for all Power Plant Projects, it still demonstrates some delay causations that properly happen in power plant projects in Vietnam, including:
i) Inability of large scale project management from Owner, Contractor and Consultant;
ii) Being inactive in problem solving due to bureaucracy mechanism; and
iii) Parties’ interaction which is based on personal relationship rather than contract commitment.
For each delay factor occurred in this project, and to prevent such root causations in this project that may re-occurs in the future, below are recommendations which have to be considered.
i) Establishing a Site Coordination Board: Most of problems can be reduced or eliminated impacts by strengthening cooperation among Parties. Therefore, it’s very important that the project should have an efficient information transmit and coordination system. It should have a Coordination Board comprises of members of all Parties (Owner, Consultant, Contractor, Subcontractor), this Board makes sure that information and coordination will be transferred from top managers to site supervisors. Coordination Board is supposed to take responsibility of analyzing any arising problem and suggest most suitable solutions.
ii) Employing advance management technology: Most of Contractors in Vietnam haven’t fully developed a total management system. Instead of this, they usually use human experience and old management mechanism which is mostly based on paper and meeting work. This system is hard to manage a huge information and activities of large scale projects. To fulfill large requirement of power projects, Contractors should apply advanced management technology (i.e. Primavera) as the first step; and build up an own management system for their long-term development.
iii) Improving contract management competency: Most of local companies consider Contract just a binding of cost and payment. In fact, Contract binds responsibility, authority, scope of work and of Participants. Learning from the case study, Owner, Consultant and Contractor sometime cannot comply with Contract commitment, which cause delay in the whole projects. Hence, it’s very critical for domestic companies to understand and comply with the contract thoroughly.
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
In recent years, construction industry in Vietnam has been developed dramatically, contributing to national development. Besides civil construction, infrastructure, residential development, there are a large number of Power plant projects are and will be implemented in the next 20 years.
Similar to other types of construction project, power plant project must also deal with risk of delay on construction stage. As a large scale project with thousands of activities, power plant project requires a very carefully planning, scheduling and monitoring to avoid these risks
There is a fact that in reality, implementation of power projects usually goes behind the schedule, causing a huge loss to social economy and obstructs the development of local construction market.
The purpose of this report, by studying a real case in Nhon Trach 1 Power Plant project, is to analyze some main factors that cause delay in such power plant projects; from that, to suggest solutions to prevent occurrence of same delays in future projects.
Looking at the picture of Power development in Vietnam, and with the characteristics, complexity and high rate of construction and installation, all of the Power project must be done under EPC Contract. EPC contract is the best solution that has been selected for such project in Vietnam. Like any other types of Contract, risk of delay also occurs in EPC contract under different stage such as:
- Engineering: Delay caused by change in design, lack of input data, and mistake in design
- Procurement: Risk of transportation, shortage of material, and cost fluctuation
- Construction: execution capability, inappropriate construction management, and bad coordination
There are a lot of participants who take part in Power Plant Project, and each of party plays a different role and therefore carries a different potential risk of delay. When delay occurs, it will not only affect the time schedule, but also the cost, and quality of project. Understanding delay factors and root causation is a foundation to help Vietnamese companies to develop their project management system, thus to avoid risk of delays in future projects.
Mr. Nguyen Le Minh made a case study on Nhon Trach 1 combined cycle power plant project in Dong Nai, Vietnam. The purpose of his study were to: (1) identify & classify delay events in Thermal Power Plant Project; (2) investigate major delay events, detail analysis to find out delay behaviors and main causations; and (3) propose recommendation for improving so that such delays and causation factors can be prevented for future projects.
Conclusion
From the case study of Nhon Trach 1 Power Plant, out of 10 major delays that have been found out, there are 5 delays which are critical to the whole projects. These factors are events in engineering stage, procurement stage, and construction phase. In these 10 delays, 4 factors are caused by owner, 1 factor by consultant, 3 factors by unforeseen condition and 4 factors by contractor.
By analyzing situations and key factors, it was discovered that the major delay behaviors includes:
i) Owner’s failure in making timely decision
ii) Owner’s failure in following up contract commitment
iii) Consultant’s mistakes in design/specification
iv) Contractor’s mistakes in project scheduling, planning
v) Contractor make fault in project management
vi) Lack of cooperation among Parties
vii) Unforeseen/unpredictable situations causing delay
These factors are also classified into:
i) Technical factors: 5 events
ii) Managerial factors: 4 events
iii) External factors: 3 events
We can see that the causations come from not only Contractor but also Owner and Consultant, which postulates a gap in large scale project management of Vietnamese companies (in the role of either Owner, Consultant or Constructor) when being compared with international level.
Although the study may not present typical situations for all Power Plant Projects, it still demonstrates some delay causations that properly happen in power plant projects in Vietnam, including:
i) Inability of large scale project management from Owner, Contractor and Consultant;
ii) Being inactive in problem solving due to bureaucracy mechanism; and
iii) Parties’ interaction which is based on personal relationship rather than contract commitment.
For each delay factor occurred in this project, and to prevent such root causations in this project that may re-occurs in the future, below are recommendations which have to be considered.
i) Establishing a Site Coordination Board: Most of problems can be reduced or eliminated impacts by strengthening cooperation among Parties. Therefore, it’s very important that the project should have an efficient information transmit and coordination system. It should have a Coordination Board comprises of members of all Parties (Owner, Consultant, Contractor, Subcontractor), this Board makes sure that information and coordination will be transferred from top managers to site supervisors. Coordination Board is supposed to take responsibility of analyzing any arising problem and suggest most suitable solutions.
ii) Employing advance management technology: Most of Contractors in Vietnam haven’t fully developed a total management system. Instead of this, they usually use human experience and old management mechanism which is mostly based on paper and meeting work. This system is hard to manage a huge information and activities of large scale projects. To fulfill large requirement of power projects, Contractors should apply advanced management technology (i.e. Primavera) as the first step; and build up an own management system for their long-term development.
iii) Improving contract management competency: Most of local companies consider Contract just a binding of cost and payment. In fact, Contract binds responsibility, authority, scope of work and of Participants. Learning from the case study, Owner, Consultant and Contractor sometime cannot comply with Contract commitment, which cause delay in the whole projects. Hence, it’s very critical for domestic companies to understand and comply with the contract thoroughly.
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
In recent years, construction industry in Vietnam has been developed dramatically, contributing to national development. Besides civil construction, infrastructure, residential development, there are a large number of Power plant projects are and will be implemented in the next 20 years.
Similar to other types of construction project, power plant project must also deal with risk of delay on construction stage. As a large scale project with thousands of activities, power plant project requires a very carefully planning, scheduling and monitoring to avoid these risks
There is a fact that in reality, implementation of power projects usually goes behind the schedule, causing a huge loss to social economy and obstructs the development of local construction market.
The purpose of this report, by studying a real case in Nhon Trach 1 Power Plant project, is to analyze some main factors that cause delay in such power plant projects; from that, to suggest solutions to prevent occurrence of same delays in future projects.
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
A Feasibility Study of Curtain Wall Testing Company in Hanoi
Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, has been growing very fast since 1995. The construction in Hanoi booms with a great number of high-rise buildings, which significantly contributes to the new face of the transforming city.
The architectural elevations of those high-rise buildings are almost glass, and curtain walls are typically used. The main features of curtain walls are noise insulation, anti-heat, water proofing, stain resistance, high wind pressure tolerance, easy maintenance and energy saving.
However, what worries developers and contractors the most, is the quality of curtain walls. While there are a large numbers of suppliers – both joint ventures and foreign ones – there is no official standards for curtain walls since Vietnam has just recently exposed to this new technology. As a result, developers and contractors of each individual project apply their own standard, which makes it very difficult to confirm and identify the quality of the products.
Unfortunately, no laboratory can carry out this testing as there lack of equipment, technology and commonly accepted standards. Owners have to take samples to overseas such as from Korea, Hong Kong or Singapore for testing, which is very costly and time consuming.
As no current wall test is being conducted in Vietnam, there is a need for the establishment of a quality testing company.
Some considerations include:
(i) whether such a company is feasible and profitable,
(ii) how to process this kind of testing company technically and economically,
(iii) Whether the demand is high, and what are architecture demands and trends?
Mr. Nguyen Duy Duc Thu made a case study which objectives were to: (1) develop technical and economic feasibility study of Curtain wall testing company; (2) identify demand (volume and market trend) and the needed supply of curtain wall testing company in Vietnam; (3) identify technical requirements of curtain wall testing in Vietnam which includes testing specifications, labs and equipment engineering knowledge competency and quality control; and (4) develop business plans and marketing plans.
Conclusion
The table below summarized the conclusion of this study.
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
Nowadays there are many high rise building had been built in over Vietnam, especially in Hanoi. The building was using for many find of propose such as office building, commercial building, hotels… and others. But they had a common that is using the curtain wall for elevation.
But there’s very difficult in order to testing and qualify this kind of material.
The thesis is focus on feasibility study of curtain wall testing company, under the perspective of technical requirement, business plan and marketing plan.
The architectural elevations of those high-rise buildings are almost glass, and curtain walls are typically used. The main features of curtain walls are noise insulation, anti-heat, water proofing, stain resistance, high wind pressure tolerance, easy maintenance and energy saving.
However, what worries developers and contractors the most, is the quality of curtain walls. While there are a large numbers of suppliers – both joint ventures and foreign ones – there is no official standards for curtain walls since Vietnam has just recently exposed to this new technology. As a result, developers and contractors of each individual project apply their own standard, which makes it very difficult to confirm and identify the quality of the products.
Unfortunately, no laboratory can carry out this testing as there lack of equipment, technology and commonly accepted standards. Owners have to take samples to overseas such as from Korea, Hong Kong or Singapore for testing, which is very costly and time consuming.
As no current wall test is being conducted in Vietnam, there is a need for the establishment of a quality testing company.
Some considerations include:
(i) whether such a company is feasible and profitable,
(ii) how to process this kind of testing company technically and economically,
(iii) Whether the demand is high, and what are architecture demands and trends?
Mr. Nguyen Duy Duc Thu made a case study which objectives were to: (1) develop technical and economic feasibility study of Curtain wall testing company; (2) identify demand (volume and market trend) and the needed supply of curtain wall testing company in Vietnam; (3) identify technical requirements of curtain wall testing in Vietnam which includes testing specifications, labs and equipment engineering knowledge competency and quality control; and (4) develop business plans and marketing plans.
Conclusion
The table below summarized the conclusion of this study.
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
Nowadays there are many high rise building had been built in over Vietnam, especially in Hanoi. The building was using for many find of propose such as office building, commercial building, hotels… and others. But they had a common that is using the curtain wall for elevation.
But there’s very difficult in order to testing and qualify this kind of material.
The thesis is focus on feasibility study of curtain wall testing company, under the perspective of technical requirement, business plan and marketing plan.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Project Schedule Delay and Risks in Rural Infrastructure Development Project: A Case Study of Rehabilitation of Calamity Damage in Vietnam
Viet Nam has been visited by more than 10 tropical storms and typhoons every year. In 2005, a tropical storm and typhoon caused damage to many infrastructures especially the sea dike system from Nam Dinh province to Quang Tri province. The Government evaluated the damage of flood brought about by this typhoon and submitted to the Asian Development Bank who agree to finance the Initial Loan 2273-VIE(SF)-Emergency Rehabilitation of Calamity Damage Project.
During the project implementation, problems occurred like rural infrastructure is affected directly by nature, lead to ground features, and geology changes year by year. Besides, problems in designing and constructions leading to project schedule delay. These factors create many risks in progress of the project.
Mr. Bui Duc Luong made a research which objectives were: (1) to know the sources and type of risk; (2) effect of every type of risk on the project; and (3) to set-up strategies to avoid or mitigate effectively the negative impact of major risks.
Conclusions
The risks came from various sources. These can not be eliminated but can be minimized and changed to other forms. There are some methods to overcome these risks such as avoiding these risks, minimizing its negative impacts, and accepting some or all results of these.
The period of the construction project implementation in general as well as the rural infrastructure development project in particular from the first phase to the final phase is so complex. Furthermore, there are so many agencies and other partners that will take part in the construction project, especially for Emergency Rehabilitation of Calamity Damage Project. The related agencies are ADB, CPMU, PPMUs, investors, designers, contractors, subcontractors, consultants, material suppliers, equipment suppliers, authorities, and etc.
Risk will affect schedule, quality, cost estimate and life of public in rural infrastructure development project. To reduce and mitigate risks, establishing a strategy is essential because it is the most effective and efficient response. Thus, author tried to identify major risks and carry out a risk management study for Emergency Rehabilitation of Calamity Damage Project. Besides, the author suggested appropriate strategies to mitigate these major risks.
Identify main risks
Characters of Emergency Rehabilitation of Calamity Damage Project as follow:
• It takes a lot of time to recruit international consultants who will review the documents in relation with the project such as Safeguard, construction design and bidding before ADB approves;
• The Project is financed by ADB, during the progress of the project there are some works that must be approved by ADB as construction design, safeguard, bidding and disbursement;
• Normally, it takes time (between one year and 2 years) to approve the construction design until construction commencement;
• Scope of the project is large; number of staff is not enough in CPMU and PPMUs. Beside most of the position is working both in PPMUs and another place;
• Inflation in 2008 caused increase in price of material and changed basic salary in 2009 and 2010.
These above information show major risks and uncertainties that are occurring in the project. We have to know these risks in order to method to solution such as mitigate or remove.
Based on the data from rural infrastructure in 10 provinces, statistics of Emergency Rehabilitation of Calamity Damage Project (ERCDP) and the same as projects in rural infrastructure, a lot of major risks were discussed, identified and analysed. According to their level of effect and sources of occurrence, author’s purpose is to setup strategies to mitigate them. The table below showed the main risk factors.
Data analyses revealed the top three risks occurred in this project as follow:
• international consultants recruited late;
• typhoon and flood will happen every year
• delay in constructions because of material price increased
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
Risks and uncertainties affect schedule, quality and cost estimate of the project and relation with most of participants involving the project.
Risk management is very important, controlling risk and reduces risk to increase economics effectively. When risk can not removed, will be minimized, transferred or retained
Risk management is implemented step by step including: Risk identification, Risk classification, Risk analysis, Risk response, Risk evaluation, every step must be implemented carefully, when has a problem in one step will affect the project.
When happen risk, the project will be used methods such remove, minimize, transfer and retain suitable for actual situation.
During the project implementation, problems occurred like rural infrastructure is affected directly by nature, lead to ground features, and geology changes year by year. Besides, problems in designing and constructions leading to project schedule delay. These factors create many risks in progress of the project.
Mr. Bui Duc Luong made a research which objectives were: (1) to know the sources and type of risk; (2) effect of every type of risk on the project; and (3) to set-up strategies to avoid or mitigate effectively the negative impact of major risks.
Conclusions
The risks came from various sources. These can not be eliminated but can be minimized and changed to other forms. There are some methods to overcome these risks such as avoiding these risks, minimizing its negative impacts, and accepting some or all results of these.
The period of the construction project implementation in general as well as the rural infrastructure development project in particular from the first phase to the final phase is so complex. Furthermore, there are so many agencies and other partners that will take part in the construction project, especially for Emergency Rehabilitation of Calamity Damage Project. The related agencies are ADB, CPMU, PPMUs, investors, designers, contractors, subcontractors, consultants, material suppliers, equipment suppliers, authorities, and etc.
Risk will affect schedule, quality, cost estimate and life of public in rural infrastructure development project. To reduce and mitigate risks, establishing a strategy is essential because it is the most effective and efficient response. Thus, author tried to identify major risks and carry out a risk management study for Emergency Rehabilitation of Calamity Damage Project. Besides, the author suggested appropriate strategies to mitigate these major risks.
Identify main risks
Characters of Emergency Rehabilitation of Calamity Damage Project as follow:
• It takes a lot of time to recruit international consultants who will review the documents in relation with the project such as Safeguard, construction design and bidding before ADB approves;
• The Project is financed by ADB, during the progress of the project there are some works that must be approved by ADB as construction design, safeguard, bidding and disbursement;
• Normally, it takes time (between one year and 2 years) to approve the construction design until construction commencement;
• Scope of the project is large; number of staff is not enough in CPMU and PPMUs. Beside most of the position is working both in PPMUs and another place;
• Inflation in 2008 caused increase in price of material and changed basic salary in 2009 and 2010.
These above information show major risks and uncertainties that are occurring in the project. We have to know these risks in order to method to solution such as mitigate or remove.
Based on the data from rural infrastructure in 10 provinces, statistics of Emergency Rehabilitation of Calamity Damage Project (ERCDP) and the same as projects in rural infrastructure, a lot of major risks were discussed, identified and analysed. According to their level of effect and sources of occurrence, author’s purpose is to setup strategies to mitigate them. The table below showed the main risk factors.
Data analyses revealed the top three risks occurred in this project as follow:
• international consultants recruited late;
• typhoon and flood will happen every year
• delay in constructions because of material price increased
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
Risks and uncertainties affect schedule, quality and cost estimate of the project and relation with most of participants involving the project.
Risk management is very important, controlling risk and reduces risk to increase economics effectively. When risk can not removed, will be minimized, transferred or retained
Risk management is implemented step by step including: Risk identification, Risk classification, Risk analysis, Risk response, Risk evaluation, every step must be implemented carefully, when has a problem in one step will affect the project.
When happen risk, the project will be used methods such remove, minimize, transfer and retain suitable for actual situation.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Contractual Risks of SME Contractors: A Case Study of Mechanical and Electrical Contractor
Before starting any construction project, at least two parties or companies have to prepare or design a contract based on the agreement between them. Once they agreed on each clause in the contract, they will officially enter the contract ruled by laws and other relevant construction regulations.
In Vietnam, all parties working in construction shall sign contracts complying with current laws and rules, Government’s decrees, Ministries’ circulars and local authorities’ regulations. For Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), there are many rules and regulations for them to follow.
By studying the case of a specific project in an FDI investment in Ho Chi Minh City, it was found out that many contractual risks had faced by the SME contractor and obviously taken a serious loss of profit at last.
These risks include: site inspection and work measurement; quantity acceptance and payment certificates; project delays; work omissions by the owner; and payments from the owner.
Mr. Vo Quoc Vinh made a research which objectives were to: (1) identify the risks of a construction contract; (2) verify the causation of contractual risks; and (3) propose possible solutions to protect SME Contractors from uncertain contractual risks.
Conclusion
Contractual risks were found in the contract between two parties or more. Lack of contract review before entering into it would be a failure of a party. Project failure means that the project has failed to meet its cost, schedule and technical performance objectives, or it does not fit in the organization’s future (Cleland and Ireland, 2007:365).
In this report and other similar cases, SME contractors have often taken such risks when dealing with the owner or main contractor whose sizes of business are always larger and stronger in many fields.
That result of project failure came from the way people actively take the chance to prepare, design and compose the contract documents. Instead, SME contractors tend to avoid or ignore the opportunities of transferring the risks by the work of contract design. Moreover, the level of professional policy and working manners in SME contractors cannot compare to big companies, especially the knowledge and experience in legal issues.
The report can be a useful tool for SME contractors in dealing with problematic clauses in similar construction projects in some ways, such as the implementation of current laws, rules and other regulation; systematic frameworks from contract literature reviews; international institutes of contract forms like FIDIC or the organizations of AGC, ASA and ASC or The ICE Conditions of Contract.
The report also raised the way which Lessons Learned documents should be organized to review the good and the bad activities in the project and encourage to be used for future projects in terms of reduction of the same problems in construction contracts.
Last but not least, the report also recommended SME contractors to apply the latest version of ISO 9001 in their businesses for a better quality performance in a rapid competitive market. Invest now, take later!
Recommendations
It is recommended that contractors should avoid or reduce the same type of problems in future projects by applying these approaches as follows:
Post-Project Reviews - offer insight into the success or failure of a particular project as well as a composite of lessons learned from a review of all the projects in the organization’s portfolio of capital projects (Cleland and Ireland, 2007:327-328).
Site Inspection - to maintain smooth operations and the quality of site inspection in construction stage and avoid unforced conflicts from this trade; owner should employ qualified, experienced technical staff. Good coordination and cooperation between project teams are needed.
Project Delays - After being awarded the contract, contractor must prepare and submit a proposed construction schedule for the review and approval of the project owner.
Omissions by Owner
Contingency Cost - To protect from financial loss in a project for any non-prevented reasons, it is important to estimate contingency costs and add them into the tender. These costs are usually expressed as percentage of direct costs or as a specific amount of money in the tender. Mullin and Kantor (1994) compared that “contingency allowances are much like insurance”. Along with contingency cost, hidden costs should be recognized and added to the estimation for bidding. Borg and Borg (1994) advised contractors to examine carefully the general conditions of the contract and visit the site, so as to have a full knowledge of all the possible hidden costs.
Concept of “Unexpected” and “Equitable Price Adjustment” - normally, the specifications give the owner the right to make changes in scope, with specific compensation to the contractor (Borg and Borg, 1994:17-35).
In order to avoid any dispute or different interpretations on this matter, the authors suggested establishing “a formula for pricing changed work” in the contract.
Risk Transfer - “The form of the contract plays a significant role in the respondents’ perception of risk” and “Transferring the responsibilities for the construction documents to another party also transfers the risk” Simu (2006).
Payment Delays - payments from the project owners are considered a vital source of any contractors in construction industry. Late payment will definitely damage contractor’s cash flow in the book of account receivables. Once periodic payment certificates are prepared, properly signed, and forwarded to the owner, prompt payment should be made (ASCE Manual, 1988:145).
Application of ISO 9001 in Quality Management - it is very useful for SME contractors to apply the latest version of ISO 9001 (partial or the whole regulations) to manage their businesses as well as the construction projects in a professional, effective method. This kind of quality control system will need time, effort and some budget to apply ISO in construction but contractors will save a lot and reserve their planned budget.
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
This report reviews the theory of contractual risks in terms of project delays with no compensation, delays in payment with no penalty, work changes by the Client, delays in site inspection and acceptance for quantity of work done, omissions by the Client from the signed contract, and so on.
From a detailed literature review, the report explores major risks that SME Contractors often face during the construction stage throughout a case study. The collected information from the case reflects the hypothesis that the Client has used an unfair treatment to the Contractor by the application of the Contract – obviously prepared by the Client.
The report also suggests some recommendations to minimize the risks from the construction contract in the stake of SME Contractors. These suggestions will somehow help them control the benefits from the protection of losses in the implementation of the contracts. On the other hand, the report asks for a fair treatment from the owners of projects in term of win-win negotiation in the contract preparation by using the theory of FIDIC, ICE Conditions of Contract and other useful, reliable sources.
Hopefully, this report will show the contribution to a better environment of risk reduction in the construction contracts from its findings, analysis and recommendations. It is studied especially for the legal support to SME Contractors in construction industry in Vietnam.
In Vietnam, all parties working in construction shall sign contracts complying with current laws and rules, Government’s decrees, Ministries’ circulars and local authorities’ regulations. For Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), there are many rules and regulations for them to follow.
By studying the case of a specific project in an FDI investment in Ho Chi Minh City, it was found out that many contractual risks had faced by the SME contractor and obviously taken a serious loss of profit at last.
These risks include: site inspection and work measurement; quantity acceptance and payment certificates; project delays; work omissions by the owner; and payments from the owner.
Mr. Vo Quoc Vinh made a research which objectives were to: (1) identify the risks of a construction contract; (2) verify the causation of contractual risks; and (3) propose possible solutions to protect SME Contractors from uncertain contractual risks.
Conclusion
Contractual risks were found in the contract between two parties or more. Lack of contract review before entering into it would be a failure of a party. Project failure means that the project has failed to meet its cost, schedule and technical performance objectives, or it does not fit in the organization’s future (Cleland and Ireland, 2007:365).
In this report and other similar cases, SME contractors have often taken such risks when dealing with the owner or main contractor whose sizes of business are always larger and stronger in many fields.
That result of project failure came from the way people actively take the chance to prepare, design and compose the contract documents. Instead, SME contractors tend to avoid or ignore the opportunities of transferring the risks by the work of contract design. Moreover, the level of professional policy and working manners in SME contractors cannot compare to big companies, especially the knowledge and experience in legal issues.
The report can be a useful tool for SME contractors in dealing with problematic clauses in similar construction projects in some ways, such as the implementation of current laws, rules and other regulation; systematic frameworks from contract literature reviews; international institutes of contract forms like FIDIC or the organizations of AGC, ASA and ASC or The ICE Conditions of Contract.
The report also raised the way which Lessons Learned documents should be organized to review the good and the bad activities in the project and encourage to be used for future projects in terms of reduction of the same problems in construction contracts.
Last but not least, the report also recommended SME contractors to apply the latest version of ISO 9001 in their businesses for a better quality performance in a rapid competitive market. Invest now, take later!
Recommendations
It is recommended that contractors should avoid or reduce the same type of problems in future projects by applying these approaches as follows:
Post-Project Reviews - offer insight into the success or failure of a particular project as well as a composite of lessons learned from a review of all the projects in the organization’s portfolio of capital projects (Cleland and Ireland, 2007:327-328).
Site Inspection - to maintain smooth operations and the quality of site inspection in construction stage and avoid unforced conflicts from this trade; owner should employ qualified, experienced technical staff. Good coordination and cooperation between project teams are needed.
Project Delays - After being awarded the contract, contractor must prepare and submit a proposed construction schedule for the review and approval of the project owner.
Omissions by Owner
Contingency Cost - To protect from financial loss in a project for any non-prevented reasons, it is important to estimate contingency costs and add them into the tender. These costs are usually expressed as percentage of direct costs or as a specific amount of money in the tender. Mullin and Kantor (1994) compared that “contingency allowances are much like insurance”. Along with contingency cost, hidden costs should be recognized and added to the estimation for bidding. Borg and Borg (1994) advised contractors to examine carefully the general conditions of the contract and visit the site, so as to have a full knowledge of all the possible hidden costs.
Concept of “Unexpected” and “Equitable Price Adjustment” - normally, the specifications give the owner the right to make changes in scope, with specific compensation to the contractor (Borg and Borg, 1994:17-35).
In order to avoid any dispute or different interpretations on this matter, the authors suggested establishing “a formula for pricing changed work” in the contract.
Risk Transfer - “The form of the contract plays a significant role in the respondents’ perception of risk” and “Transferring the responsibilities for the construction documents to another party also transfers the risk” Simu (2006).
Payment Delays - payments from the project owners are considered a vital source of any contractors in construction industry. Late payment will definitely damage contractor’s cash flow in the book of account receivables. Once periodic payment certificates are prepared, properly signed, and forwarded to the owner, prompt payment should be made (ASCE Manual, 1988:145).
Application of ISO 9001 in Quality Management - it is very useful for SME contractors to apply the latest version of ISO 9001 (partial or the whole regulations) to manage their businesses as well as the construction projects in a professional, effective method. This kind of quality control system will need time, effort and some budget to apply ISO in construction but contractors will save a lot and reserve their planned budget.
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
This report reviews the theory of contractual risks in terms of project delays with no compensation, delays in payment with no penalty, work changes by the Client, delays in site inspection and acceptance for quantity of work done, omissions by the Client from the signed contract, and so on.
From a detailed literature review, the report explores major risks that SME Contractors often face during the construction stage throughout a case study. The collected information from the case reflects the hypothesis that the Client has used an unfair treatment to the Contractor by the application of the Contract – obviously prepared by the Client.
The report also suggests some recommendations to minimize the risks from the construction contract in the stake of SME Contractors. These suggestions will somehow help them control the benefits from the protection of losses in the implementation of the contracts. On the other hand, the report asks for a fair treatment from the owners of projects in term of win-win negotiation in the contract preparation by using the theory of FIDIC, ICE Conditions of Contract and other useful, reliable sources.
Hopefully, this report will show the contribution to a better environment of risk reduction in the construction contracts from its findings, analysis and recommendations. It is studied especially for the legal support to SME Contractors in construction industry in Vietnam.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Owner’s Project Schedule Management for High - Rise Office Building Projects: A Case Study of
Applying modern project management techniques in schedule planning and control for high-rise office building projects is not easy. The project schedule is crashed by reasons that are investigated in high-rise office building projects such as the following:
- Using the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for schedule planning.
- Using the Critical Path Method (CPM) for schedule planning.
- Proposing the methods for crashing scheduling.
- Making reports for work performance.
- Measuring work performance.
It is very important to explore the project schedule management of the owner. Hence, Mr. Le Nam Binh made a study to enhance understanding of schedule management systems, and how it can be utilized effectively in construction projects. The objectives of his research were: (1) investigating the practice of the owner’s project schedule planning and control for managing high-rise office building construction projects in Vietnam; (2) analyzing the foregoing factors to identify the critical affecting issues, the strengths, weaknesses and consequences of schedule management practices, and (3) proposing particular recommendations and effective methods for managing the project schedule from the owner’s point of view for these projects.
Conclusion
The modern project management era started half a century ago, was the young branch arising from the management discipline, and developed stormily on a stable fundamental with broad application in most of the manufacturing and construction industries over the world. The stream of these scientific technicalities has just been imported into Vietnam along with the expert groups serving the implementation of the petrochemical refinery project and the skyscraper projects of new urbans for the latest ten years.
The project schedule management, or project time management, as one of the four core functions of project management, is an important element contributing to accomplish timely completion of the project through six mutual-interacting processes comprising of activity definition, activity sequencing, activity resource estimating, activity duration estimating, schedule development, and schedule control. The schedule management is the most considerable concern of the project manager as well as the project owner, as an investor, cares mostly about the profitability of the invested capital.
This report develops the framework of project schedule management, which is joined with the selected tools and techniques of schedule planning and control to be applied in practical projects. These theoretical utilizations are monitored, investigated, analyzed and compared with the experienced knowledge of on-site engineers, whereby the rules and principles are generalized to form the more perfect theory.
The case study focused on applying the researched framework to the typical high-rise office building project for checking the applicability and usefulness of the theory with a particular construction project. In consequence of the actual situations in the building site and their profound changes towards better, the fact leads to the conclusion that the application of these techniques has made some considerable improvements to the project schedule, helps the project manager to catch up the target schedule in case of project delay, and lightens the pressure of stakeholders’ workload.
Moreover, the theory is applied to the construction project, which is always unique and temporary in nature, therefore it cannot help exposing the shortcomings in several cases. These particular limitations are also studied in order to propose some useful solutions for the project manager as well as other partners of the project to mitigate the potential contingencies in hazard prevention and controllability.
The project schedule management tools and technique, which are verified through practice and adjusted for specific situations, are given in the table below.
These techniques should be combined to enhance the effectiveness, whereby each of them can minimize its limitations and complement the others.
Recommendation
After studying the theories and the case study of an actual construction project within the analyses of application range and limitations for the implementation in Vietnam, the concise recommendations for project schedule management of high-rise office building projects from the point of view of the project owner are summarized as follows:
- The construction projects are unique and specific entities, no one is like others, except for the buildings of mass housing dwelling. This can be compared in images with human being in the society. The theory of project schedule management with its generalized rules and regulations should be flexibly applied to the construction projects to make use of its academic strength and mitigate its certain limitations. This way of looking at the concepts will facilitate the project stakeholders in planning and controlling the schedule. The experienced qualification of the project manager is a key factor for determining the important degree of schedule management techniques and tools to be used.
- In the initiation stage of the project, when many things are still ambiguous around the project vision, the project manager should make plans for basic tasks, using WBS and CPM techniques to organize all the initial activities into a miniature work breakdown structure as a componential subproject. The total project schedule planning is set up after the approval of the project fundamental design and general description.
- Towards more effective management of large construction projects with less confusion of master schedule chart scale, the project might be organized into smaller work packets in controllable view as separated schedule management charts, which are described in their own work breakdown structure for various monitoring purposes.
- If the project has parallel paths with similar durations, the project manager can utilize heuristics for identifying the essential activities of a selected critical path and focus on enhancing the activities’ quality instead of determining the best critical path. If project’s resources are spreaded and reallocated across different projects and activities, the prime contractor may be forced to undertake supplying sufficient resources for normal project operation and accelerating project schedule in the remaining stage.
- From the beginning of the project, a total quality management should be promulgated widely to all the project stakeholders. This comprises of paperwork transfer process, performance report forms and variance evaluation criteria to unite the comprehension of schedule management techniques through the project process.
- Skill training is an integral demand of the project, which help staff and engineers with specialized professions for such a multicultural working environment as the construction project. This contributes to its smooth run throughout stages. The project should reserve sufficient budgets for investment of management software.
Because of the limitation of the scope and time fund of the study, this report has just explored general issues in implementation of project schedule management for high-rise office building projects under the project owner’s point of view. It’s recommended that analytical research of great depth on the specific benefits of this theory to prove its great efficiency should be carried out. Besides, the higher rates of huge skyscraper investment projects with progressive schedule management techniques need to be penetrated. And after all, the further studies should make polydimensional analysis to draw the overview painting of the modern project management discipline.
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
Project schedule management, which is described and analyzed in a mind of great depth in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge by the Project Management Institute, is one of the most important knowledge areas of modern project management and interacts closely with other processes. It is a really tough challenge that most of project managers today are aware of but not all of them have done well.
The final report focuses on construction project schedule management for high-rise office building projects in Vietnam from the viewpoint of the owner’s project managers. By reviewing several researches and factual studies on this field, knowledge as regards owner’s project schedule management will be explored gradually.
Through the case study of a typical office building construction project, PetroVietnam Finance Centre in Danang City, the critical issues that affect owner’s project schedule management would be investigated and analyzed. Some proposed solutions based on the reviewed knowledge above will be discussed in order to help project managers improve their project schedule management professionalism better.
- Using the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for schedule planning.
- Using the Critical Path Method (CPM) for schedule planning.
- Proposing the methods for crashing scheduling.
- Making reports for work performance.
- Measuring work performance.
It is very important to explore the project schedule management of the owner. Hence, Mr. Le Nam Binh made a study to enhance understanding of schedule management systems, and how it can be utilized effectively in construction projects. The objectives of his research were: (1) investigating the practice of the owner’s project schedule planning and control for managing high-rise office building construction projects in Vietnam; (2) analyzing the foregoing factors to identify the critical affecting issues, the strengths, weaknesses and consequences of schedule management practices, and (3) proposing particular recommendations and effective methods for managing the project schedule from the owner’s point of view for these projects.
Conclusion
The modern project management era started half a century ago, was the young branch arising from the management discipline, and developed stormily on a stable fundamental with broad application in most of the manufacturing and construction industries over the world. The stream of these scientific technicalities has just been imported into Vietnam along with the expert groups serving the implementation of the petrochemical refinery project and the skyscraper projects of new urbans for the latest ten years.
The project schedule management, or project time management, as one of the four core functions of project management, is an important element contributing to accomplish timely completion of the project through six mutual-interacting processes comprising of activity definition, activity sequencing, activity resource estimating, activity duration estimating, schedule development, and schedule control. The schedule management is the most considerable concern of the project manager as well as the project owner, as an investor, cares mostly about the profitability of the invested capital.
This report develops the framework of project schedule management, which is joined with the selected tools and techniques of schedule planning and control to be applied in practical projects. These theoretical utilizations are monitored, investigated, analyzed and compared with the experienced knowledge of on-site engineers, whereby the rules and principles are generalized to form the more perfect theory.
The case study focused on applying the researched framework to the typical high-rise office building project for checking the applicability and usefulness of the theory with a particular construction project. In consequence of the actual situations in the building site and their profound changes towards better, the fact leads to the conclusion that the application of these techniques has made some considerable improvements to the project schedule, helps the project manager to catch up the target schedule in case of project delay, and lightens the pressure of stakeholders’ workload.
Moreover, the theory is applied to the construction project, which is always unique and temporary in nature, therefore it cannot help exposing the shortcomings in several cases. These particular limitations are also studied in order to propose some useful solutions for the project manager as well as other partners of the project to mitigate the potential contingencies in hazard prevention and controllability.
The project schedule management tools and technique, which are verified through practice and adjusted for specific situations, are given in the table below.
These techniques should be combined to enhance the effectiveness, whereby each of them can minimize its limitations and complement the others.Recommendation
After studying the theories and the case study of an actual construction project within the analyses of application range and limitations for the implementation in Vietnam, the concise recommendations for project schedule management of high-rise office building projects from the point of view of the project owner are summarized as follows:
- The construction projects are unique and specific entities, no one is like others, except for the buildings of mass housing dwelling. This can be compared in images with human being in the society. The theory of project schedule management with its generalized rules and regulations should be flexibly applied to the construction projects to make use of its academic strength and mitigate its certain limitations. This way of looking at the concepts will facilitate the project stakeholders in planning and controlling the schedule. The experienced qualification of the project manager is a key factor for determining the important degree of schedule management techniques and tools to be used.
- In the initiation stage of the project, when many things are still ambiguous around the project vision, the project manager should make plans for basic tasks, using WBS and CPM techniques to organize all the initial activities into a miniature work breakdown structure as a componential subproject. The total project schedule planning is set up after the approval of the project fundamental design and general description.
- Towards more effective management of large construction projects with less confusion of master schedule chart scale, the project might be organized into smaller work packets in controllable view as separated schedule management charts, which are described in their own work breakdown structure for various monitoring purposes.
- If the project has parallel paths with similar durations, the project manager can utilize heuristics for identifying the essential activities of a selected critical path and focus on enhancing the activities’ quality instead of determining the best critical path. If project’s resources are spreaded and reallocated across different projects and activities, the prime contractor may be forced to undertake supplying sufficient resources for normal project operation and accelerating project schedule in the remaining stage.
- From the beginning of the project, a total quality management should be promulgated widely to all the project stakeholders. This comprises of paperwork transfer process, performance report forms and variance evaluation criteria to unite the comprehension of schedule management techniques through the project process.
- Skill training is an integral demand of the project, which help staff and engineers with specialized professions for such a multicultural working environment as the construction project. This contributes to its smooth run throughout stages. The project should reserve sufficient budgets for investment of management software.
Because of the limitation of the scope and time fund of the study, this report has just explored general issues in implementation of project schedule management for high-rise office building projects under the project owner’s point of view. It’s recommended that analytical research of great depth on the specific benefits of this theory to prove its great efficiency should be carried out. Besides, the higher rates of huge skyscraper investment projects with progressive schedule management techniques need to be penetrated. And after all, the further studies should make polydimensional analysis to draw the overview painting of the modern project management discipline.
His thesis abstract is copied and posted.
Abstract
Project schedule management, which is described and analyzed in a mind of great depth in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge by the Project Management Institute, is one of the most important knowledge areas of modern project management and interacts closely with other processes. It is a really tough challenge that most of project managers today are aware of but not all of them have done well.
The final report focuses on construction project schedule management for high-rise office building projects in Vietnam from the viewpoint of the owner’s project managers. By reviewing several researches and factual studies on this field, knowledge as regards owner’s project schedule management will be explored gradually.
Through the case study of a typical office building construction project, PetroVietnam Finance Centre in Danang City, the critical issues that affect owner’s project schedule management would be investigated and analyzed. Some proposed solutions based on the reviewed knowledge above will be discussed in order to help project managers improve their project schedule management professionalism better.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)